Recycle guarantee method and server

ABSTRACT

The present invention is intended to provide a recycle guarantee method, a server applicable to the method, a recycle guarantee program, a computer-readable recording medium for the recycle guarantee program, a method of selling recycle-guaranteed products, recycle-guaranteed products, and recycle guarantee account. The recycle guarantee method is carried out by a server which receives recycling conditions of materials composing a product, stores the received recycle guarantee conditions together with a recycle guarantee information identifier, stores a guarantee code of the product in correlation to the recycle guarantee information identifier, searches the recycle guarantee conditions in response to the guarantee code, and outputs the recycle guarantee conditions. The invention is effective in enabling consumers to select and utilize products at their wills and to actively participate in the recycling.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to recycling of products collected as wastes, andespecially relates to recycling of materials composing products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recently, it is strongly requested to promote a recycling-orientedsociety in order to cope with environmental restrictions on sanitarylandfill systems, and to promote effective utilization of limited energyresources. Particularly, recycling of products, i.e. recycling ofmaterials constituting discarded products, is necessary to construct therecycling-oriented society as well as to reduce and reuse disusedproducts.

A number of proposals for recycling products have been offered up to nowin the following publications: Japanese Patent Laid-Open PublicationsNo. Hei 10-222,554 and No. Hei 09-160,959 describe the methods of makingrecyclable articles; Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications No.2002-032,530 and No. 2000-048,066 describe the methods of determiningwhether or not products are recyclable; and Japanese Patent Lid-OpenPublications No. Hei 06-211,301 and No. Hei 06-168,253 describe themethods of promoting reuse of resources retrieved from disused products.

All of persons related to life cycles of products are expected topositively take part in the recycling of materials constituting theproducts. For instance, products are manufactured, used by consumers,discarded as wastes, collected, and recycled. Even if a product makerdesigns, manufactures and sells products considering recycling ofmaterials, but if a consumer uses it in a manner which is not desirablefor recycling, such a product would be difficult to be reused when it isdiscarded as a waste.

It is assumed here that a furniture maker designs and makes furniture inorder that its wooden materials are recyclable. If a consumer uses thefurniture applying non-recyclable adhesives thereon and discards thefurniture as a waste, a recycling cost of the furniture will be muchmore than a recycling cost estimated by the furniture maker.

The consumer has the right of selecting the product and discarding ithis or her wills. Therefore, it is necessary to let the consumerrecognize that the product has been designed and made to be recyclable,which is effective in enabling the consumer to make positive efforts inthe recycling. Further, it is necessary to inform the consumer how touse the purchased product in a manner to promote the recycling.

In recycle systems of the related art, the foregoing objects have beenaccomplished through improvements of product recycling techniques or byproduct makers who should collect used products, or persons or partieswhich are partially concerned with life cycles of the products. Further,it has been very difficult to let consumers actively take part in therecycling.

With existing recycling mechanisms, it is impossible to anticipate thatdiscarded products are in a recyclable state. The more products arediscarded in a non-recyclable state, the more recycling cost isrequired. In such a case, it will be very difficult to secure parties orspaces for receiving wastes, which would make the product maker give uprecycling of wastes. The wastes would be finally burnt or buried.

Therefore, existing recycle mechanisms would prevent full re-use ofwastes or repeated recycling of materials constituting wastes.

The present invention has been contemplated in order to overcomeproblems of the related art, and is intended to provide a recycleguarantee method, a server applicable to the method, a recycle guaranteeprogram, a computer-readable recording medium for the recycle guaranteeprogram, a method of selling recycle-guaranteed products,recycle-guaranteed products, and recycle guarantee account. Theinvention is effective in enabling consumers to select and utilizeproducts at their wills and to actively participate in the recycling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is provided a product recycling guarantee method carried out by aserver, the server performs the following: receiving material recyclingconditions for a material constituting a product storing the receivedmaterial recycling conditions together with a guarantee code of thematerial and a guarantee code of a product made of the material;receiving the guarantee code of the material from a product maker'sterminal, extracting the stored recycling conditions on the basis of thereceived guarantee code, and transmitting the extracted materialrecycling conditions to the product maker's terminal; and receiving theguarantee code of the product from a consumer's terminal, extracting thematerial recycling conditions on the basis of the received guaranteecode, and transmitting the extracted material recycling conditions tothe consumer's terminal.

The foregoing feature enables the product maker to design and make aproduct taking recycling of materials into consideration. Further, thisenables the consumer to use a purchased product in a state suitable torecycling. Therefore, the product manufactured in accordance with therecycle guarantee conditions can be easily recycled when discarded as awaste. Since a discount rate of a collecting fee depends upon a level bywhich material recycle conditions are satisfied, the consumer who paysthe collecting fee will use the purchased product so as to meet therecycle guarantee conditions. Further, product maker can activelyobserve the recycle guarantee conditions. As a result, recycle of thematerial is further promoted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a recycle guarantee server according to afirst embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing how a recycle guarantee method is carriedout in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a Web screen for receiving recycle guaranteeinformation.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a Web screen for outputting a guarantee code.

FIG. 5 shows further examples of Web screens for receiving recycleguarantee information.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a medium for recording the recycle guaranteeinformation.

FIG. 7 shows examples of Web screens for receiving material processinginformation.

FIG. 8 shows another medium for recording the recycle guaranteeinformation.

FIG. 9 shows examples of Web screens for receiving service information.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a Web screen for outputting a collectingcondition.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a recycle guarantee method in a secondembodiment.

FIG. 12 shows examples of recycle guarantee information recordingmedium.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of the recycle guarantee method in a thirdembodiment.

FIG. 14 shows examples of recycle guarantee information recordingmedium.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of the recycle guarantee method of a fourthembodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart of a recycle guarantee method in a fifthembodiment.

FIG. 17 shows a further example of a Web screen for receiving recycleguarantee information.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a recycle guarantee certificate.

FIG. 19 shows an example of a Web screen for receiving recycle guaranteeinformation.

FIG. 20 shows a further example of a recycle guarantee certificate.

FIG. 21 shows a still further example of a recycle guaranteecertificate.

FIG. 22 shows a flow chart of a recycle guarantee method in a seventhembodiment.

FIG. 23 shows an example of a Web screen for receiving a guaranteeinformation identifier of a material.

FIG. 24 shows an example of a Web screen on which recycle guaranteeinformation is displayed in response to the guarantee informationidentifier.

FIG. 25 shows examples of Web screens for receiving material processinginformation.

FIG. 26 shows examples of data stored in the server.

FIG. 27 schematically shows the configuration of a recycle guaranteesystem.

BEST MODES FOR EMBODYING THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings, the invention will be described hereinafterwith reference to a recycle guarantee method, a server applicable to themethod, a recycle guaranteeing program, a computer-readable recordingmedium, a recycle guarantee program recording medium, a method ofselling a recycle-guaranteed product, a recycle-guaranteed product, anda recycle guarantee account.

A piece of furniture (called the “furniture”) made of a wooden materialis exemplified in the following description. The wooden material refersto woods, cut boards, fiber boards, plywood boards, and so on.

The furniture discarded as a waste is recycled to regenerate rawmaterial chips. For example, fiberboards or particle boards will besometimes regenerated from wooden furniture, or particle boards will beregenerated from furniture composed of particle boards.

The term “recycle guarantee” represents that discarded furniture (calledthe “furniture waste”) will be collected according to conditionsestablished when wooden materials are sold to a product maker. In otherwords, the wooden materials are sold on the conditions that they shouldbe easily regenerated from the furniture waste. The conditions arereferred to as the “recycle guarantee conditions”. The furniture wastewill be collected according to the recycle guarantee conditions.

Referring to FIG. 1, a recycle guarantee server 1 (called the “server1”) is connected to terminals 21, 22 and 23 via a communication network3. The terminals 21, 22 and 23 are respectively used by a material makerA, a product maker B, and a consumer C.

The material maker A produces and sales wooden materials, collects thefurniture waste, and regenerates wooden materials therefrom.

The product maker B purchases the wooden materials from the materialmaker A, processes them to make furniture, and sells it to the consumerC.

The consumer C buys the furniture made by the product maker B, and maydiscard it as a waste in the future.

The communication network 3 may be a computer communication network suchas an Internet or LAN. The server 1 and terminals 21, 22 and 23 areconnected to the communication network 3 via dedicated lines, a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), a wireless telephone network, a CATVnetwork, a satellite communication network or the like, not shown.

The terminals 21 to 23 may be any kinds of data processing units whichcan communicate with the server 1 via the communication network 3, e.g.personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDA) with datacommunication functions, or cell phones.

The server 1 may be a data processing unit which is communicative withthe terminals 21 to 23 via the communication network 3, and comprises aguarantee information receiver 11, a guarantee information storage 12, aprocessing information receiver 13, a service information receiver 14, acollecting condition calculator 15, and a collecting conditiontransmitter 16.

In response to the recycle guarantee program (called the “program”), theserver 1 controls the foregoing devices in order to achieve the recycleguarantee method.

When a computer-readable recording medium (called the “recordingmedium”) containing the foregoing program is used, a computer (notshown) may function as the server 1, and carry out the recycle guaranteemethod.

Further, the server 1 functions as a Web server in order to transmit andreceive information to and from the terminals 21 to 23. Alternatively,the server 1 may communicate with the terminals 21 to 23 by other means.

The server 1 may be managed and operated by either or both of thematerial maker A and the product maker B, or by a third party.

The guarantee information receiver 11 receives recycle guaranteeinformation, which includes recycle guarantee conditions of woodenmaterials constituting furniture, a criterion for determining asatisfaction level of the furniture with respect to the recycleguarantee conditions, and guarantee contents depending upon thesatisfaction level of the furniture on the basis of the foregoingcriterion.

The recycle guarantee condition of wooden materials representsconditions for making furniture using wooden materials, and serviceconditions of the furniture.

The satisfaction level of the furniture represents a level by which thefurniture satisfies the recycle guarantee conditions for the woodenmaterials. The satisfaction level is determined on the basis of not onlythe level by which the material processing conditions are satisfied bythe product maker but also on the service conditions of the furnitureobserved by the consumer C. The satisfaction level of the furniturerepresents the level at which the recycle guarantee conditions areobserved.

The guarantee contents, i.e. a collecting condition, are defined as adiscount rate for a waste collection fee. The collection fee is paid bythe consumer C when the material maker A collects the furniture waste.The collection fee does not include a shipping cost between the consumerC and the material maker A.

The guarantee information storage 12 stores the recycle guaranteeinformation together with a guarantee code to be described later. Theserver 1 searches and extracts the recycle guarantee information on thebasis of the guarantee codes.

The processing information receiver 13 and the service informationreceiver 14 receive information for determining the satisfaction levelof the furniture, i.e. processing information and service information.The processing information is used to determine the satisfaction levelof the furniture with respect to the material processing conditions. Theservice information is used to determine the satisfaction level of thefurniture with respect to the service conditions.

The collecting condition calculator 15 determines the satisfaction levelof the furniture on the basis of the guarantee conditions for the woodenmaterial, and calculates a discount rate of the collection fee.

The collecting condition transmitter 16 notifies the calculated discountrate (to be described later) by sending a Web screen, sending an emailvia the communication network 3, or printing a sheet using a printer(not shown). Alternatively, the discount rate may be shown on a displayof the server 1. The recycle guarantee method is carried out as shown ina flow chart of FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 to FIG. 10. In FIG. 2, the solidlines with arrows denote flows of the information while dotted linesdenote flows of wooden materials and furniture.

After making the wooden material (step S1), the material maker A inputsrecycle guarantee information of the wooden material in the server 1. Instep S2, the server 1 receives the recycle guarantee information fromthe terminal 21 via the guarantee information receiver 11, and storesthe received information in the guarantee information storage 12. Then,the server 1 provides the terminal 21 with a guarantee code for thereceived recycle guarantee information (step S3). The guarantee code isused to identify the material guarantee condition, criteria, and acollecting condition. As described above, the server 1 stores therecycle guarantee information together with the guarantee code in theguarantee information storage 12.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a Web screen for the server 1 to receive therecycle guarantee information. The material maker A gains access to theserver 1 via the terminal 21, receives a Web screen P1, selectsguarantee conditions and so on out of items shown on the Web screen P1,and sends selected items to the server 1.

The server 1 outputs the guarantee code to the terminal 21 as shown inan example of the Web screen P2 in FIG. 4. Receiving the Web screen. P2,the material maker A confirms that the guarantee code N1 is assigned tothe registered recycle guarantee information.

The guarantee code N1 is issued by the server 1. Alternatively, thematerial maker A may input a guarantee code when transmitting therecycle guarantee information.

Further the recycle guarantee information may be independently preparedby the maker A, or may be prepared by both of the material maker A andthe product maker B when the wooden material is sold to the productmaker B. In this case, the material maker A may consult the productmaker B with respect to how to process the wooden materials. Materialprocessing conditions agreed by the material maker A and the productmaker B are then transmitted to the server 1. Thereafter, the materialmaker A may sell the wooden material.

Referring to FIG. 3, printed paper is selected as a surface material.The material maker A registers a processing condition that the printingpaper is suitable to regeneration of the wooden materials whilemelamine-decorated materials and metal sheets are not preferable.Further, the material maker A similarly registers polyvinyl acetategroup adhesives as usable adhesives. Further, magnetic fittings areregistered to be acceptable in the furniture.

As the criterion, rank A is assigned when the recycle guaranteeconditions are observed by 100%; rank B is for 75% to less than 100%;rank C is for 50% to less than 75%; rank D is for 25% to less than 50%;and rank E is for less than 25%.

The discount rate of the collection fee per unit weight is 50% for therank A; 30% for the rank B; 20% for the rank C; 10% for the rank D; and0% for the rank E.

Further, the material maker A may select any alternatives of thematerial recycle guarantee information stored by the server 1.Alternatively, the server 1 may receive recycle guarantee informationprepared by the maker A in its own right.

The material maker A may send the recycle guarantee information eitherafter or before making wooden material.

The recycle guarantee information may be inputted not only by thematerial maker A and a collector of the wooden material but also byparties who import wooden materials from abroad and sell them.

Web screens shown in FIG. 5(a) and FIG. 5(b) may be used by the materialmaker A in order to input the recycle guarantee information, whichalleviates burden on the material maker A.

Specifically, FIG. 5(a) shows a Web screen P1 x for receiving anidentifier which is used to identify existing recycle guaranteeinformation, and FIG. 5(b) shows a Web screen Ply for receiving anidentifier which is used to identify an existing member, and a Webscreen P1 z for receiving an identifier of the recycle guaranteeinformation registered by the existing member.

Using the Web screen P1 x, the material maker A can obtain a guaranteecode by sending the guarantee information identifier to the server 1 solong as the recycle guarantee information is the same as the existingrecycle guarantee information.

When there exist a plurality of pieces of recycle guarantee information,the material maker A sends its own identifier to the server 1 on the Webscreen P1 y, and receives the Web screen P1 z listing the guaranteeinformation identifiers. The material maker A selects its own guaranteeinformation identifier, returns it to the server 1, and obtains aguarantee code.

Further, the guarantee information identifier or member identifier maybe provided by the server 1 or may be prepared by the material maker A.

Referring to FIG. 2, the material maker A assigns the guarantee code,corresponding to the registered recycle guarantee information, to thewooden material, and sells the material to the maker B (step 4). Forinstance, a recycle guarantee certificate 5 indicating the guaranteecode N1 is attached on the wooden material 4 as shown in FIG. 6. Therecycle guarantee certificate 5 may be prepared by the material maker Aor by the server 1. In the latter case, the server 1 outputs theguarantee code to the material maker A (step S3). Thereafter, thematerial maker A prints the recycle guarantee certificate 5 on a papersheet, for example.

As long as the guarantee code N1 can be identified when the product iscollected as a waste, the recycle certificate 5 may be omitted. In thiscase, the guarantee code N1 may be directly indicated on the woodenmaterial.

Further, the recycle certificate 5 may mention all or a part of therecycle guarantee information as well as the guarantee code if it ispossible to recognize the recycle guarantee information on the basis ofthe guarantee code.

It is still possible for the recycle certificate 5 to list a URL of theWeb screen for retrieving the recycle guarantee information in theserver 1.

The recycle certificate recording medium may be a computer-readablerecord in stead of the paper sheet.

The product maker B can confirm the recycle guarantee information of thewooden material 4 on the basis of the guarantee code N1. Specifically,the product maker B gains access to the server 1 via its terminal 22 inorder to send the guarantee code N1. In response to the guarantee codeN1, the server 1 retrieves the recycle guarantee information stored inthe guarantee information storage 12 using a unit not shown, and returnsthe retrieved recycle guarantee information to the terminal 22.

The product maker B can confirm the processing conditions for the woodenmaterial 4, and designs and makes furniture taking future recycling ofthe wooden material 4 into consideration.

The server 1 may return to the terminal 22 a part of the recycleguarantee information corresponding to the guarantee code N1, e.g. onlythe processing conditions.

The product maker B can confirm the recycle guarantee information afteror before purchasing the wooden material. In other words, the productmaker B can decide the purchase of the wooden material 4 afterconfirming the recycle guarantee conditions and a collecting condition.

Thereafter, the product maker B makes furniture using the woodenmaterial 4 (step S5), and registers the processing conditions in theserver 1. The server 1 receives the processing information from theterminal 22 via the processing information receiver 13, and stores theinformation in the guarantee information receiver 12 (step S6). Theserver 1 searches the guarantee information storage 12, therebyextracting the processing conditions and information corresponding tothe guarantee code N1.

FIG. 7 shows examples of Web screens P31 and P32 for the server 1 toreceive the processing information. Gaining access to the server 1 viathe terminal 22, the product maker B receives the Web screen P31, ontowhich the guarantee code N1 for the wooden material 4 is entered. Theguarantee code N1 is transmitted to the server 1. The server 1 searchesthe guarantee information storage 12, extracts the processing conditionsof the wooden material 4 having the guarantee code N1, prepares the Webscreen P32, and sends it to the terminal 22. The product maker B entersthe applied processing conditions on the Web screen P32 and sends themto the server 1, i.e. the processing conditions for the surface-treatedmaterial is satisfied (only the printed paper has been used) while theprocessing conditions for adhesives are not satisfied (an adhesive otherthan a polyvinyl acetate adhesive has been used).

Now reference is made to FIG. 2. In step S7, the product maker B sellsthe furniture 6 to the consumer C. The furniture 6 carries the recyclecertificate 7 describing the guarantee code N1, as shown in FIG. 8.Alternatively, the recycle guarantee certificate 7 may be a copy of therecycle guarantee certificate 5 attached on the wooden material 4, orthe server 1 may issue a recycle guarantee certificate when it receivesthe processing conditions in step S6.

A tag carrying the guarantee code N1 thereon may be attached to thefurniture 6.

Further, the recycle guarantee certificate 7 may list all or a part ofthe recycle guarantee information as well as the guarantee code.

Still further, the recycle guarantee certificate 7 may list the URL ofthe Web screen (not shown) for retrieving the recycle guaranteeinformation.

The consumer C can confirm the recycle guarantee information of thewooden material 4 of the furniture, on the basis of the guarantee codeN1. Specifically, referring to the URL on the recycle guaranteecertificate 7, the consumer C gains access to the server 1 via theterminal 23, and sends the guarantee code N1 to the server 1. Receivingthe guarantee code N1, the server 1 searches the recycle guaranteeinformation in the guarantee information storage 12, and returns theretrieved information to the terminal 23.

In accordance with the received information, the consumer C can use thefurniture 6 in such a manner that the wooden material 4 of the furniture6 is recyclable.

The server 1 may return to the terminal 23 a part of the recycleguarantee information for the guarantee code N1, e.g. the servicecondition.

Alternatively, before buying the furniture 6, the consumer C may confirmthe recycle guarantee information of the wooden material 4 of thefurniture 6 on the basis of the guarantee code N1, in a furniture shop.In such a case, the consumer C can buy the furniture 6 after confirmingthe recycle guarantee conditions and the collecting condition of thewooden material 4 of the furniture 6. Further, the server 1 may bedesigned such that the consumer C can check how the wooden material 4 isprocessed in accordance with the processing conditions, or how acollection fee depends upon a service condition of the furniture 6.

Referring to FIG. 2, the consumer C registers in the server 1 theservice information of the furniture 6 via the terminal 23 when he orshe is going to discard the furniture 6 as a waste (step S8). The server1 stores the received service information in the guarantee informationstorage 12 in relation to the service conditions (step S9), i.e. theserver 1 can retrieve the service conditions and service information onthe basis of the guarantee code N1.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the Web screen for the server 1 to receivethe service information. The consumer C enters the guarantee code N1,and sends it to the server 1. The server 1 searches the guaranteeinformation storage 12, retrieves the service conditions related to theguarantee code N1, prepares a Web screen P42, and sends it to theterminal 23. The consumer C selects the service conditions which he orshe has observed, and returns them to the server 1. In this case, onlymagnetic fittings have been applied to the furniture, which means that arequirement for the attachment has been observed.

In the foregoing case, one person sends the service information to theserver 1, and another person may actually use the furniture 6. Forinstance, if the furniture is on the lease contract, a leasing companyprovides the server 1 with the service conditions, i.e. the leasingcompany has purchased the furniture 6 from the product maker B, and thefurniture 6 is leased to a leaseholder.

Further, one person may send the service information to the server 1while another person may use the furniture 6. For instance, if a buyermakes over the furniture 6 to another party, this party should providethe server 1 with the service information.

Still further, on the basis of the guarantee code N1, any person mayconfirm the recycle guarantee conditions or collecting condition of thewooden material of the furniture 6, or may ask how the recycle guaranteeconditions have been observed. It is assumed here that the furniture 6is bought and used by different persons, and another person sends theservice information to the server 1.

Let's return to FIG. 2. Receiving the service information, the server 1determines a satisfaction level of the furniture 6 with respect to therecycle guarantee conditions, and computes a collecting condition, usingthe collecting condition calculator 15 (step S10). In the example shownin FIGS. 3, 7 and 9, two processing conditions are satisfied, i.e.surface-treated paper and attachment are satisfied out of threeguarantee conditions (e.g. surface-treated paper, adhesive, andattachment). The server 1 determines the rank C (2÷3 0.67), and computesa discount rate for the collection fee per unit weight to be 20%.

The server 1 outputs the computed collecting condition via thecollecting condition transmitter 16 (step S11). The consumer C confirmsthe collecting condition, i.e. discount rate for the collection fee, ona Web screen P5 shown in FIG. 10. The Web screen P5 is returned to theconsumer C in response to the information on the Web screen P42 of FIG.9.

Simultaneously, the server 1 provides the material maker A with thecollecting condition. In this case, the material maker A enters its ownmail address when registering the recycle guarantee information. Then,the server 1 sends an e-mail describing the URL of the Web screen P5 tothe registered mail address.

The Web screen P5 also describes not only the collection fee discountrate but also a going rate of a collection fee, a collection fee for thefurniture 6 ((e.g. weight of the furniture 6)×(the going rate of thecollection fee)×(1 discount rate)) and information concerning thecollector (i.e. the material maker A in this case) such as the URL ofthe Web screen thereof. Transmitting the service information to theserver 1, the consumer C will be informed of the collection fee andinformation on the collector who can collect furniture wastes.

The material maker A may register in the server 1 the informationnecessary for preparing the Web screen P5 (e.g. the collection fee perunit weight, collector and so on) when the recycle guarantee informationis registered or updated. Alternatively, the server 1 may gain access toanother server storing the recycle guarantee information, therebyobtaining the necessary information.

The server 1 may receive the service information from the consumer C notonly when the furniture is discarded as a waste but also when theconsumer C wishes to know fluctuations of the collection fee dependingupon service states before or after the purchase of the furniture 6. Insuch a case, the server 1 may compute the collection fee on the basis ofa going rate of the collection fee in response to the serviceinformation, or may compute the collection fee as a probable price.

Reference is made back to FIG. 2. The consumer C discards the furniture6 (step S12). The recycle guarantee certificate 7 or a copy thereof maybe attached on the furniture 6.

The material maker A collects the furniture 6 on the basis of theguarantee code and at the collection fee which has been computed on thebasis of the discount rate per unit weight (step S11), recycles thefurniture 6 and regenerates a wooden material (step S13). Recycleguarantee information will be registered for the regenerated woodenmaterial, and a new guarantee code will be assigned to the woodenmaterial. Then, the wooden material will be marketed.

The discount of the collection fee {(weight of the furniture 6)×(thegoing rate of the collection fee)×(discount rate per unit weight)} maybe allotted as a deposit. In other words, the furniture 6 may be soldwith some money (depending upon the weight of the furniture 6) depositedin a recycle guarantee account in relation to the guarantee code, andwill be credited to the discount of the collection fee when thefurniture 6 is collected for recycling in the future. The recycleguarantee account is used to cover the collection fee for the furniturewaste. The server 1 also stores the information concerning the recycleguarantee account, which will be retrieved on the basis of the guaranteecode of the furniture 6.

The party concerned with the recycle guarantee can alleviate futurefinancial problems related to the collection fee through management ofthe recycle guarantee account on the basis of the guarantee code.Further, it is possible for the server 1 to notify the consumer that thecollection fee of the furniture has been deposited. This is effective inletting the consumer feel easy about the recycle guarantee.

A person opening the recycle guarantee account, i.e. a holder of theaccount, may be a material maker, a product maker, or a third party suchas an industry group, the Government, a local government, a non-profitorganization, and so on.

The recycle guarantee account may be deposited by either the materialmaker or the product maker, or by both of them.

The server 1 may include a unit computing an amount to be deposited inthe recycle guarantee account. For instance, the server 1 receivesweight data of the material as a part of the processing information andcomputes the deposit amount on the basis of the weight. Otherwise, aratio of the amount to be absorbed by the material maker or productmaker on the basis of the observance level of the processing conditionsof the product.

Further, the server 1 may store the account number in relation to theguarantee code, so that the account number can be identified on thebasis of the guarantee code of the product when the product is discardedas a waste. Once the account number is identified, the server 1 canwithdraw the amount to be contributed from the identified depositaccount.

In the foregoing embodiment, the material maker A has set the processingand service conditions appropriate to the wooden material 4, and sellsthe wooden material 4 to the product maker B with the recycle guarantee.The product maker B can design and make the furniture 6 taking therecycling of the wooden material into consideration. Further, theconsumer C can use the furniture 6 such that it is recyclable.

Therefore, the furniture 6 made and used in accordance with theprocessing and service conditions will be discarded in a recyclablestate, which enables the regeneration of the wooden material 4. Thecollection fee of the used furniture 6 will be discounted in accordancewith the observed processing and service conditions. This is effectivein letting the consumer use the furniture under the specified serviceconditions. Further, the product maker B is made to observe theprocessing conditions since it is possible to persuade the consumer C tobuy the furniture after confirming that the furniture has been made byobserving the processing conditions. The regeneration of the woodenmaterial will be further promoted.

The collecting condition is informed to the consumer C and the materialmaker A in the foregoing embodiment (step S11). Alternatively, it may beinformed only to the consumer C. In such a case, the collection fee willbe computed after sending the guarantee code N1 of the furniture 6 andconfirming the collection condition.

In the foregoing embodiment, the material maker A may register theprocessing information and service information in the server 1 in placeof the product maker B and the consumer C. In other words, the materialmaker A may collect the used furniture 6 and determine an observancelevel of the guarantee condition of the furniture 6 on the basis of theprocessing information and service information stored by the server 1.

Further, the material maker A may guarantee the collection of woodenmaterials retrieved from a furniture waste in addition to the furniture6 made of the wooden material 4. For instance, the guarantee conditionsare attached to wooden materials used to build a house, so that woodenmaterials obtained from a broken house may be reliably collected in thefuture.

In the foregoing case, the guarantee conditions may be revised by addinghousebreaking conditions and so on in accordance with life cycles of thehouse.

The material maker A, product maker B and consumer C may communicatewith the server 1 by means other than the communication network 3. Forinstance, the material maker A may mail documents describing the recycleguarantee information to a body administrating or operating the server 1in order to register it in the server 1. Alternatively, a documentlisting the guarantee code may be outputted by the server 1 and may bemailed to the material maker A or the product maker B.

The present invention is also applicable to any recyclable materialscomposing products. For instance, articles made of PET such as PETbottles, appliances made of glass or cullet such as bottles or medicaltubes, and so on are recyclable, and are recycle-guaranteed.

The recycle guarantee conditions may be applied to a plurality of usesor applications of the material. In the foregoing description, therecycle guarantee conditions are applied to the material for makingfurniture. Alternatively, recycle guarantee conditions may be set forrespective products (or use applications). Further, it is possible tocollect wooden materials or products made in accordance with appliedrecycle guarantee conditions, without specifying the uses of the woodenmaterials.

The collecting conditions of products depending upon the service statethereof are not always limited to the discount of the collection fee.For instance, the collection fee may be increased, or collection of theproduct may be refused in accordance with the service state of theproduct.

The following describe a recycle guarantee condition under which thecollection of a waste is refused if the satisfaction level of the wasteis not 100%. Refer to FIGS. 17 and 18.

The material maker A receives a Web screen 10 (shown in FIG. 17) fromthe server 1 in order to register recycle guarantee information. The Webscreen P10 is similar to the Web screen P1 of FIG. 3. Depending upon amaterial to be collected, the material maker A selects desired guaranteeconditions out of guarantee categories such as surface treatmentmaterials, adhesives, attachments and so on. The material maker A sendsthe selected items to the server 1. Referring to FIG. 17, the guaranteeconditions represent that only the product including printed paper as asurface material will be collected. Further, the guarantee conditionsare set irrespective of a processing condition and a service condition.

The Web screen P10 is not designed to receive the “criterion” and“collecting condition” which are shown on the Web screen P1. This isbecause the criterion prescribe that no products will be collected ifthey do not satisfy the recycle guarantee conditions and because thecollecting condition has been predetermined. Needless to say, thecriteria and collecting condition may be received from the materialmaker A besides the recycle guarantee conditions.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a recycle certificate 10 prepared inaccordance with the recycle guarantee information shown in FIG. 17. Therecycle guarantee certificate 10 is attached on the material or product,indicates that the product will be collected only when the guaranteeconditions are satisfied, and lists the guarantee code, surfacematerial, adhesive, and so on. Therefore, the product maker B who buysthe material carrying the recycle certificate 10 or the consumer C whobuys the product made of the material having the recycle certificate 10can know that the material or the product will be reliably collected aswaste in the future.

Alternatively, the recycle guarantee certificate 10 may describe onlythe guarantee code. The material maker A or consumer C may send theguarantee code to the server 1, thereby consulting a product maker,recycle guarantee condition and so on of the material carrying therecycle guarantee certificate 10.

A second embodiment of the invention will be described by specifying itsdifferences from the first embodiment.

Although only one product maker is concerned in the foregoingembodiment, there are two product makers in the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows a flow chart of the second embodiment, in which likereference numbers as those of FIG. 2 are used for like parts. In thesecond embodiment, the server 1 receives processing information bothfrom first and second product makers (steps S6 a and S6 b), and judges asatisfaction level of a product on the basis of not only the processinginformation from the two product makers but also service informationfrom a consumer.

Products made by two product makers can be recycle-guaranteed accordingto the second embodiment.

A third embodiment will be described hereinafter, mainly with respect towhat differ from the forgoing embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the guarantee code N1 is assigned to thewooden material 4 and the furniture 6 in the foregoing embodiments.Referring to FIG. 12, two different guarantee codes N1 and N2 areassigned to the wooden material 4 and the furniture 6, respectively.

Refer to FIG. 13. Receiving recycle guarantee information from theterminal 21 of the material maker A (step S2), the server 1 outputs theguarantee code N1 to the material maker A (step S3 x). Further, inresponse to the guarantee code N1 and processing information from theproduct maker B via the terminal 22 thereof (step S6 x), the server 1outputs to the product maker B a guarantee code N2 related to theguarantee code N1 (step S61). In short, the material maker A sells thewooden material 4 (having the guarantee code N1) to the product maker B(step S4 x). The product maker B sells the furniture 6 (having theguarantee code N2) to the consumer C (step S7 x). Finally, the consumerC discards the furniture 6 with the guarantee code N2 as a waste (stepS12 x).

The server 1 stores, in the guarantee information storage 12, both therecycle guarantee information from the terminal 21 and the guaranteecode N1 of the wooden material 4 and the guarantee code N2 of thefurniture 6. In other words, the server 1 stores the recycle guaranteeinformation from terminal 21 and the guarantee code N1 related thereto.Then, the server 1 stores the processing information from the terminal22 and the guarantee code N2 together with the existing recycleguarantee information and the guarantee code N1.

In the third embodiment, different guarantee codes may be prepared ineach stage of the life cycle of the product in order to manage theproduct.

In place of the server 1, the product maker B may set out the guaranteecode N2 and send it as well as the processing information to the server1.

The following describe a fourth embodiment of the invention, mainly withrespect to what differs from the first to third embodiments. The fourthembodiment relates to recycle guarantee of two or more materialsconstituting a product 6 y.

Referring to FIG. 14, the product 6 y is made of materials 4 a and 4 b.Guarantee codes N3, N4 and N5 are assigned to the materials 4 a and 4 b,and to the product 6 y, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 15, the material makers making the materials 4 a and 4b gain access to the server 1 via terminals 21 a and 21 b.

Receiving the recycle guarantee information for the material 4 a (stepS2 a), the server 1 outputs the guarantee code N3 to the terminal 21 a(step S3 a). Further, the server 1 receives the recycle guaranteeinformation for the material 4 b (step Sa2 b), and outputs the guaranteecode N4 (step S3 b).

The product maker B purchases the material 4 a having the guarantee codeN3 and the material 4 b having the guarantee code N4 (steps S4 a and S4b), and makes the product 6 y (step S5 y). In this state, the productmaker B informs the server 1 of the processing information related tothe guarantee codes N3 and N4 (step S61 y).

Receiving the processing information from the product maker B, theserver 1 outputs a guarantee code N5 related to the guarantee codes N3and N4 (step S61 y).

The product maker B attaches the guarantee code N5 to the product 6 y,and sells it to a customer C (step S7 y). The customer C will discardthe product 6 y having the guarantee code N5, in the future.

According to the fourth embodiment, it is possible to guarantee therecycling of products made of two or more materials.

In order to allow the product maker to make products using a pluralityof materials and to guarantee recycling of the product, the server 1 mayinclude a unit which assists selection of a probable combination ofmaterials. For instance, when receiving a guarantee code of a particularmaterial, the server 1 searches the guarantee information storage 12 onthe basis of the guarantee code, retrieves the recycle guaranteeconditions related to the particular material, and outputs informationon a material which agrees with the retrieved conditions.

It is assumed here that the server 1 receives a guarantee code of aparticle board from a product maker who makes furniture using theparticle board. The server 1 sends the maker a list of surface treatmentmaterials, adhesives and so on which satisfy the guarantee conditionsfor the particle board. This enables the product maker to selectarticles which are usable in combination with the particle board. Inthis case, it is preferable to check whether or not the particle boardmeets the recycle guarantee conditions for the surface material.

The invention will be further described with reference to a fifthembodiment. The following describe what are different in this embodimentfrom the foregoing embodiments.

In this embodiment, a product waste will be collected by a collector,i.e. not a material maker, who picks out basic materials from thecollected product waste.

Referring to FIG. 16, the collector collects the product waste from theconsumer C, and gains access to the server 1 via a terminal 24.

The server 1 transmits a calculated collecting condition to the consumerC and the collector (step S11 z). The collector collects the productwaste from the consumer C in accordance with the collecting condition(step S12 z), picks out basic materials (step S131), and sells them to amaterial maker A (step S132). The material maker A makes a material fromthe regenerated basic material (step S133).

In this embodiment, the collector confirms the product to be discardedby the consumer C, and registers the processing information and serviceinformation in the server 1. Then, the server 1 computes a collectingcondition. The collector may collect materials constituting the productin place of the product itself.

Alternatively, the product maker B who makes the product and sells itmay collect the product from consumer C.

The collected product waste may be regenerated by the product maker B orby another party. It is assumed that furniture 6 made of woodenmaterials is collected in this case. The product maker B collects thefurniture 6, breaks it down, picks out basic materials therefrom,generates wooden chips, and sells them to the material maker A. Adifferent party may receive the furniture 6 collected by the productmaker B, regenerate wooden chips, and sell them to the material maker A.

Used products or materials constituting the used products may becollected by a plurality of collectors. In such case, a plurality ofcollectors may be registered in the server 1 beforehand. A list ofcollectors may be informed to the consumer C who is going to discard theproduct.

A discount rate of the collection fee per unit weight depends upon thesatisfaction level of the product, and may be registered for eachcollector in the server 1. The consumer C may select a desired collectorusing a Web screen, as shown in FIG. 10, where the recycle guaranteeinformation is outputted. The Web screen lists names and contactaddresses of collectors.

The products can be reliably recycle-guaranteed even when they arecollected not by the material maker A but by the collectors who collectused products and extract basic ingredients therefrom.

The following describe a sixth embodiment of the invention. Thisembodiment differs the foregoing embodiments as described hereinafter.

The recycle guarantee certificates of the foregoing embodiments refer tothe recycle guarantee conditions which should be satisfied in order torecycle used products. Therefore, it is possible to notify the productmakers and customers that the product cannot be recycled when productsare made or used against the recycle guarantee conditions stated on therecycle guarantee certificates. In such a case, neither the productmaker nor customer can know whether wastes are incinerated (i.e. thermalemission) or buried.

In this embodiment, the recycle guarantee certificate specifies not onlythe recycle guarantee conditions for assuring recycling but alsonon-recycle-guarantee conditions under which non-recyclable productswill be incinerated, buried and so on.

FIG. 19 shows an example of a Web screen P20 for the server 1 to receivethe recycle guarantee information. The Web screen P20 corresponds to theWeb screen P1 shown in FIG. 3, but lists not only processing and serviceconditions under which the recycle guarantee is applicable but alsoprocessing and service conditions under which the recycle guarantee isnot applicable. Gaining access to the server 1, the material maker Areceives the Web screen P20, specifies respective processing and serviceconditions using a pull-down menu, and sends them to the server 1.

Referring to FIG. 19, a printed sheet is recyclable while a melaminedecorated article and a metal sheet are not recyclable. Both themelamine decorated article and metal sheet are to be incinerated orburied.

An example of a recycle guarantee certificate 20 is shown in FIG. 20.The recycle guarantee certificate 20 is prepared in accordance with therecycle guarantee information received as shown in FIG. 19, and coversthe guarantee code, and waste disposal conditions for products dependingupon respective waste disposal methods.

The recycle guarantee certificate 20 is effective in informing theproduct maker and consumer of the conditions for products to be recycledand the conditions of products which are not recyclable and have to beincinerated, buried and so on. Therefore, it is possible to let theproduct maker and consumer select processing and service conditionswhich are suitable to recycling compared to the incineration or buryingin view of reduction of load applied to the environment.

The recycle guarantee certificate 20 describes that the product will becollected only when the recycle guarantee conditions are satisfied.Alternatively, the recycle guarantee certificate 20 may describe thatproducts will be collected even if they do not always satisfy therecycle guarantee conditions. In such a case, collection fees may beraised compared with collection fees necessary for recycling. Further,collectors may be named for respective disposal methods.

In FIG. 21, a recycle guarantee certificate 20 x describes anenvironmental load for each waste disposal method. The term“environmental load” denotes used resources and energy applied to theenvironment during a life cycle of a product, and is represented by avalue calculated in terms of an amount of discharged carbon dioxide. Forinstance, the product is assumed to be made of wooden materials. Thewooden materials are obtained by cutting trees; cut trees are processedto make the product; it is used by a customer and is then discarded as awaste. The recycle guarantee certificate 20 x indicates that therecycling has the environmental load n1, incineration has n2, andburying has n3. Either the material maker or the product maker mayregister the environmental loads in the server 1. Alternatively, theserver 1 may gain access to another server, obtain information, such asan emission intensity, necessary for calculating the environmentalloads.

The environmental loads on the recycle guarantee certificate 20 x areeffective in notifying the product makers and customers how processingand service conditions of the product affect the environment when theproduct is discarded as a waste.

As stated above, the recycle guarantee certificate may describe only theguarantee code. Either the product maker or the customer may transmitthe recycle guarantee code to the server 1 in order to consult theinformation on the recycle certificate.

A seventh embodiment of the invention will be described mainly withrespect to differences from the foregoing embodiments.

In the foregoing embodiments, the guarantee code is attached to thematerial and the product made of the material. For instance, theguarantee code N1 is used for the wooden material 4 and the furniture 6as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8. Referring to FIG. 12, the guarantee codeN1 is assigned to the material 4 while the guarantee code N2 is assignedto the furniture 6.

In this embodiment, the guarantee code is assigned only to the product.

Refer to the flow chart in FIG. 22. The server 1 receives the recycleguarantee information via the guarantee information receiver 11, andoutputs a recycle guarantee information identifier (step S30) in orderto identify the received recycle guarantee information as shown in FIG.5. The server 1 searches the guarantee information storage 12 andextracts the corresponding recycle guarantee information.

Alternatively, the material maker A may specify the recycle guaranteeinformation identifier when registering the recycle guaranteeinformation. Further, the server 1 may use a Web screen similar to theWeb screen P2 for notifying the guarantee code as shown in FIG. 4,thereby notifying the recycle guarantee information identifier to thematerial maker A who registers the recycle guarantee information.

The material maker A sells the material (e.g. a particle board in thisembodiment) to the product maker B (step S40). The product maker Bconfirms the recycle guarantee information of the particle board asfollows. Refer to FIG. 23 and FIG. 24. The particle board has a recycleguarantee information identifier PB.

As requested by the product maker B, the server 1 prepares a materialselecting Web screen P30 (shown in FIG. 23), and sends it to theterminal 22. The Web screen P30 shows a list of materials correspondingto the recycle guarantee information. When one of materials isspecified, a recycle guarantee information identifier of the specifiedmaterial is sent to the server 1.

The product maker B gains access to the server 1 via the terminal 22,receives the Web screen P30, and specifies the particle board on the Webscreen P30. Receiving the recycle guarantee information identifier PBfrom the terminal 22, the server 1 searches the guarantee informationstorage 12, extracts the recycle guarantee information correspondingthereto, prepares a Web screen P31 for consulting the recycle guaranteeinformation, and sends it to the terminal 22. The Web screen P 31 showsthe recycle guarantee information for the particle board registered bythe material maker A beforehand.

Now return to FIG. 22. The product maker B makes the furniture 6 usingthe particle board (step S5), and registers processing information inthe server 1.

In response to the request via the terminal 22, the server 1 prepares aWeb screen P31 x in order to receive the processing information shown inFIG. 25, and sends the Web screen P31 x to the terminal 22. The Webscreen P31×shows a list of materials of which recycle guaranteeinformation has been stored in the server 1. When the product maker Bspecifies one of materials, the guarantee information identifier of thespecified material is sent to the server 1.

The product maker B specifies the particle board on the Web screen P31x. The server 1 receives the recycle guarantee information identifier PBfrom the terminal 22, searches the guarantee information storage 12,extracts the processing condition, prepares a Web screen P32 x, andsends it to the terminal 22.

The server 1 receives the processing information, which has beenselected by the product maker B using the Web screen P32 x, via theprocessing information receiver 13 (step S60), and outputs a guaranteecode (step S61). The guarantee code will be attached onto the furnituremade by the product maker B.

Referring to FIG. 26(a) and FIG. 26(b), the guarantee informationstorage 12 includes a table (database) TB1 and a table TB2. The tableTB1 is used to manage the relationship between the recycle guaranteeinformation and recycle guarantee information identifier of eachmaterial constituting the product. The table TB2 is for managing therelationship between the guarantee code of each product and the recycleguarantee information identifier of the material composing the product.As described previously, the server 1 receives the recycle guaranteeinformation, issues the recycle guarantee information identifier, andstores it in the table TB1. The server 1 searches the table TB1 whenissuing the Web screen P30 shown in FIG. 23. Further, receiving theprocessing information, the server 1 outputs the guarantee code andstores it in the table TB2. When receiving the processing informationand service information as well as the guarantee code, the server 1searches the table TB2, and stores the processing information andservice information in a record of the guarantee code in question.

The table TB1 may store also classifications of materials, names ofmaterials and information on the material maker (e.g. a contactaddress). The table TB2 may store also the collecting conditioncalculated by the server 1, and information of the product maker andcustomer.

This embodiment is carried out as schematically shown in FIG. 27, inwhich “ID” denotes recycle guarantee information identifiers, and “No.”denotes guarantee codes.

The material maker A registers the recycle guarantee information of thematerial (step T1), makes the material (step T2), and sells the material(T3). The server manages the recycle guarantee information on the basisof the guarantee information identifier.

When confirming processing conditions (step T4), or when registeringprocessing information in the server 1 after processing the material(steps T5 and T6), the product maker sends the guarantee informationidentifier of the material to the server 1. The product maker attaches aguarantee code to the product, and sells it to a customer (step T7).

The customer sends the guarantee code of the product to the server whenconfirming service conditions (step T8), or when registering serviceinformation and confirming a guarantee contents (steps T9, T10 and T11).

The collector collects the product waste having the guarantee code,breaks it down, regenerates a basic material from the waste, and sellsit to the material maker (steps T12, T13, and T14).

The material maker A produces a material from the regenerated basicmaterial, and sells it to the product maker B (steps T2 and T3). In thisstate, it is not necessary to register the recycle guarantee informationof the regenerated material since the guarantee code of the regeneratedmaterial has been already registered. The existing guarantee informationidentifier will be reused.

Once the recycle guarantee information is registered for the material,it is not necessary to re-register the recycle guarantee informationeach time the material is regenerated and sold. This is effective inalleviating the burden of repeatedly registering the recycle guaranteeinformation.

In the foregoing embodiments of the invention, a recycle-guaranteedproduct is a product which has a guarantee code and is recycled withoutfail when it is discarded as a waste.

The recycle-guaranteed product is characterized as follows:

(1) The guarantee code is assigned in order to identify the recycleguarantee conditions which are necessary for recycling materialsconstituting the product;

(2) The guarantee code is used to retrieve the recycle guaranteeconditions stored in the server;

(3) The recycle guarantee conditions in item (1) or (2) also include theprocessing conditions of materials and service conditions of theproduct;

(4) In any of the above three items, the guarantee code is attached onthe product, and is used to identify the requirements necessary forregenerating materials of the product and to identify the collectingcondition depending upon levels of the product's satisfying the recycleguarantee conditions.

(5) In item (4), the collecting condition depend upon levels of theproduct's satisfying the recycle guarantee conditions for the material.

(6) In item (4) or (5), the collecting condition relates to collectionfee.

(7) In items (1) to (6), a plurality of materials may constitute theproduct.

The guarantee code on the recycle-guaranteed product is used to searchrecycle guarantee conditions stored in the server. This enables aprobable buyer or user of the product to easily know the recycleguarantee conditions of the product by inputting the guarantee code inthe server.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, materials are sold after establishingrecycle guarantee conditions for regeneration thereof. Regeneration ofmaterials can be realized through the cooperation of parties concernedwith the life cycle of products. Recycle guarantee information on theproduct enables the customer to recognize that the product has been madetaking the recycling thereof into consideration, and select and buy theproduct.

When a collecting condition specifies probable fluctuations ofcollection fees of product wastes depending upon levels of the product'ssatisfying the recycle guarantee conditions, many customers will payattention to and buy recycle-guaranteed products. Further, the customersmay use the products in such a manner to satisfy the service statesuitable to the regeneration of materials. Therefore, the regenerationof materials may be further promoted by parties concerned with the lifecycle of the products.

1. A recycle guarantee method carried out by a server, wherein theserver performs the following: receiving recycle guarantee conditions ofa material constituting a product; storing the received recycleguarantee conditions together with a guarantee code of the material anda guarantee code of a product made of the material; receiving theguarantee code of the material from a product maker terminal, extractingthe stored recycle guarantee conditions on the basis of the receivedguarantee code, and transmitting the extracted recycle guaranteeconditions to the product maker's terminal; and receiving the guaranteecode of the product from a consumer's terminal, extracting the recycleguarantee conditions on the basis of the received guarantee code, andtransmitting the extracted recycle guarantee conditions to theconsumer's terminal.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the servertransmits recycle guarantee conditions for respective waste disposalmethods in place of the recycle guarantee conditions for the material.3. The method of claim 2, wherein the server transmits informationconcerning environmental loads of the respective waste disposal methods.4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the same guaranteecode is assigned to the material and the product.
 5. The method of anyone of claims 1 to 3, wherein different guarantee codes are assigned tothe material and the product.
 6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5,wherein the server issues the guarantee code of the material.
 7. Themethod of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the guarantee code of thematerial is inputted from a material selling agent.
 8. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the server issues the guarantee code of the product. 9.The method of claim 5, wherein the guarantee code of the product isinputted from the product maker's terminal.
 10. The method of any one ofclaims 1 to 9, wherein the server further performs the following:receiving information necessary for determining a satisfaction level ofthe product with respect to the recycle guarantee conditions for thematerial; determining a satisfaction level of the product on the basisof the recycle guarantee conditions for the material and satisfactionlevel determining information of the product; calculating a wastecollecting condition of the product on the basis of the determinedsatisfaction level of the product; and sending the calculated wastecollecting condition to the consumer.
 11. A recycle guarantee methodcarried out by a server, wherein the server performs the following:receiving recycle guarantee conditions for a material constituting aproduct; receiving information necessary for determining a satisfactionlevel of the product with respect to the recycle guarantee conditionsfor the material; determining a satisfaction level of the product on thebasis of the recycle guarantee conditions of the material andsatisfaction level determining information of the product; calculating awaste collecting condition on the basis of the satisfaction level of theproduct; and sending the product waste collecting condition.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein a collecting condition of the material isapplied in place of the collecting condition for the product.
 13. Themethod of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the collecting conditionfor the product includes information concerning a waste collecting fee.14. The method of any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the collectingcondition for the product includes information concerning a collector.15. The method of any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the serverreceives information concerning the satisfaction level of the productfrom a product maker's terminal and a consumer's terminal.
 16. Themethod of any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein the satisfaction leveldetermining information relates to a collection fee depending upon astate of the product discarded as a waste.
 17. The method of any oneclaims 1 to 16, wherein the recycle guarantee conditions for thematerial are inputted in the server prior to the material making. 18.The method of any one claims 1 to 16, wherein the recycle guaranteeconditions for the material are inputted in the server after thematerial making.
 19. The method of any one of claims 1 to 18, whereinthe recycle guarantee conditions for the material are established atrespective stages in the life cycle of the product.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the recycle guarantee conditions for the materialinclude material processing conditions and service conditions of theproduct made of the material.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein thematerial recycling conditions include conditions for processing thematerial and for breaking down the product waste.
 22. The method of anyone of claims 1 to 21, wherein the product is furniture made of a woodenmaterial.
 23. The method of any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein theproduct is a bottle made of polyethylene terephthalate.
 24. A recycleguarantee server comprising: a receiver receiving recycle guaranteeconditions for a material of a product; a storage storing the receivedrecycle guarantee conditions together with a guarantee code of thematerial and a guarantee code of the product, the guarantee codes beingused to identify the recycle guarantee conditions; a receiver receivingthe guarantee code from a terminal of a product maker, extracting therecycle guarantee conditions on the basis of the guarantee code, andsending the recycle guarantee conditions to the terminal of the productmaker; and a unit receiving the guarantee code from a terminal of aconsumer, extracting the recycle guarantee conditions on the basis ofthe guarantee code, and sending the material recycling conditions to theterminal of the consumer.
 25. The recycle guarantee server of claim 24further comprising: a receiver receiving information for determining asatisfaction level of the product with respect to the recycle guaranteeconditions; a unit determining the satisfaction level of the product onthe basis of the recycle guarantee conditions and the information fordetermining the satisfaction level; a unit calculating a collectingcondition of the product on the basis of the determined satisfactionlevel; and a unit sending the collecting condition to a terminal of aconsumer.
 26. A recycle guarantee server comprising: a receiverreceiving recycle guarantee conditions for a product; a receiverreceiving information for determining a satisfaction level of theproduct with respect to the recycle guarantee conditions; a unitdetermining the satisfaction level of the product on the basis of therecycle guarantee conditions and the information for determining thesatisfaction level; a unit calculating a collecting condition of theproduct on the basis of the determined satisfaction level; and a unitsending the collecting condition.
 27. A recycle guarantee programenabling a computer to function as the recycle guarantee server of anyone of claims 24 to
 26. 28. A medium having the recycle guaranteeprogram of claim 27 recorded thereon.
 29. A medium on which recycleguarantee information for recycling a used product is recorded, thematerial recycling information including conditions for regenerating amaterial of the product, a criterion for determining a satisfactionlevel of the product with respect to the material regeneratingconditions, and a collecting condition of the product depending upon thesatisfaction level of the product.
 30. The medium of claim 29, whereinone of the three conditions of the recycle guarantee information isrecorded.
 31. A method of selling product with recycle guaranteeinformation, wherein the recycle guarantee information refers toconditions for regenerating a material of the product, a criterion fordetermining a satisfaction level of the product with respect to thematerial regenerating conditions, and a collecting condition of theproduct depending upon the satisfaction level of the product.
 32. Themethod of claim 31, wherein the recycle guarantee information isdirectly indicated on the material.
 33. The method of claim 31, whereinthe material recycling information is printed on paper and are attachedon the material.
 34. The method of claim 31, wherein the recycleguarantee information is recorded in a computer-readable medium and isattached on the material.
 35. A recycling guarantee method carried outby a server, wherein the server performs the following: receivingrecycle guarantee conditions for a material constituting a product;storing the received recycle guarantee conditions in correlation to arecycle guarantee information identifier for identifying the recycleguarantee conditions; storing a guarantee code of a product made of thematerial in correlation to the recycle guarantee information identifier;and receiving the guarantee code of the product, extracting the storedrecycle guarantee conditions on the basis of the received guaranteecode, and transmitting the extracted recycle guarantee conditions. 36.The method of claim 35, wherein the server issues the guarantee code forthe product.
 37. The method of claim 35, wherein the server receives theguarantee code of the product.
 38. The method of any one of claims 35 to37, wherein the server performs the following: receiving informationnecessary for determining a satisfaction level of the product withrespect to the recycle guarantee conditions; determining thesatisfaction level of the product on the basis of the recycle guaranteeconditions and satisfaction level information of the product;calculating a waste collecting condition on the basis of thesatisfaction level of the product; and sending the product wastecollecting condition.
 39. The method of any one of claims 35 to 38,wherein the collecting condition refers to information concerning awaste collecting fee.
 40. The method of any one of claims 35 to 39,wherein the recycle guarantee conditions include material processingconditions and service conditions of the produce made of the material.41. The method of any one of claims 35 to 40, wherein the product isfurniture made of a wooden material.
 42. The method of any one of claims35 to 40, wherein the product is a bottle made of polyethyleneterephthalate.
 43. A recycle guarantee server comprising: a receiverreceiving recycle guarantee conditions for a material of a product; astorage storing the received recycle guarantee conditions together witha recycle guarantee information identifier for identifying the recyclingconditions; a storage storing a guarantee code of the product incorrelation to the recycle guarantee information identifier; and areceiver receiving the guarantee code of the product, extracting therecycle guarantee conditions on the basis of the guarantee code, andsending the recycle guarantee conditions.
 44. The method of claim 43,wherein the server includes a unit issuing the guarantee code for theproduct on the product.
 45. The method of claim 43, wherein the serverincludes a receiver receiving the guarantee code.
 46. The method of anyone of claims 43 to 45, wherein the server further comprises: a receiverreceiving information necessary for determining a satisfaction level ofthe product with respect to the recycle guarantee conditions; a unitdetermining the satisfaction level of the product on the basis of therecycle guarantee conditions and satisfaction level information of theproduct; a unit calculating a waste collecting condition on the basis ofthe satisfaction level of the product; and a unit sending the productwaste collecting condition.
 47. A recycle guarantee program enabling acomputer to function as the server of any one of claims 43 to
 46. 48. Arecycle-guaranteed product whose recycling is guaranteed, and which hasinformation for identifying recycle guarantee conditions.
 49. Arecycle-guaranteed product whose recycling is guaranteed, and which hasdata for identifying recycle guarantee conditions stored in a dataprocessing device and searched on the basis of the data.
 50. The productof claim 48 or 49, wherein the recycle guarantee conditions includematerial processing conditions and service conditions of the producemade of the material.
 51. The product of any one claims 48 to 50,wherein the information indicated on the product is for identifying therecycle guarantee conditions and a collecting condition depending upon asatisfaction level of the product with respect to the recycle guaranteeconditions.
 52. The product of claim 51, wherein the waste collectingcondition depends upon the satisfaction level of the product.
 53. Theproduct of claim 51 or 52, wherein the waste collecting conditiondenotes a collection fee.
 54. The product of any one of claims 48 to 53is made of a plurality of materials.
 55. An account adapted to pay acollection fee of a product waste, wherein an amount of the collectionfee is searched on the basis of information for identifying recycleguarantee conditions indicated on the product and stored in a dataprocessing unit, and the data processing unit outputs the amount of thecollection fee in response to the information for identifying therecycle guarantee conditions.